In response. . .

A letter in respose to last week’s “Letter to the Editor” regarding the actions of the alleged members of the MC football tea during the Knox-Monmouth basketball game.

I am writing this letter in regards to the letter to the editor that was published in last week’s paper. The people who wrote the original letter wanted to express their feelings in regard to how the Monmouth student body acted during the previous Monmouth-Knox basketball game. Since I believe I was a huge part of this letter, I wanted to at least bring up a few points which I think should be acknowledged.

First and foremost I will take the time to apologize for anything that I did at the game that may have offended anybody who was in attendance. I never had the intention to disgust Monmouth College alumni so I am very sorry that it happened.

It was obvious that there was a lot of trash talking going on between the Monmouth student section and the Knox student section. The Monmouth-Knox rivalry is one that is over 100 years old and will continue to be a rivalry. Part of what makes the rivalry between the two schools a lot of fun is the trash talking that takes place. I know a couple of students from Knox College and have never had any problems with them. I have hung out with them and we have just enjoyed each others’ company and had a good time together. There was a problem at halftime of the game where a Monmouth football player was actually punched in the back of the head and did not swing back. It all ended up getting broken up and that was the end of the incident. The original letter says “Let Monmouth College take the high road!” Now if you ask me and a lot of other students, by no Monmouth College Varsity Football player or any other Monmouth student swinging back, we without a doubt took the so called high road. After the incident occurred and was broken up, a Knox student and I talked and we both had agreed that we were both there to talk trash to the other team and to the other student section, not to fight. We then shook hands and wished each other good luck. I think that goes to show people that talking trash to other people is something that a lot of people enjoy doing and it was all in fun.

There has been a lot of talk about the Monmouth student section using profane language and gestures toward the Knox student section. I am not going to say that were no students from Monmouth making these gestures or not using any profane language but I think it is safe to say that these gestures and profane language were going both ways. The Monmouth student body was not doing this to the wall or just the air, they were obviously doing it to people who were doing it right back to us. Now I am in no way blaming this on Knox but I just think everyone should consider that all of this was happening both ways. Now personally I can say that I never recall actually showing the Knox student section my middle finger which I have been accused of. I was actually showing them my ring finger and pointing to it to simply imply that we have a conference championship ring from this year and they don’t.

One thing I would definitely like to express my thoughts on is in the previous letter when it is referring to the football team and it states “You tarnished the outstanding achievements of the team and its nationally recognized individuals”. Now I may be out of line by saying this but I believe that unless you were a part of our team this year, nobody has the right to say that. All of the hard work we put in as a team since the middle of January of 2005 until the middle of November of 2005 to accomplish our goal can in no way be taken away from us or “tarnished” because of some individuals on the football team. We worked extremely hard for 10 straight months to be the MidWest Conference Champions and give Monmouth College its first ever National Playoff Berth and for someone to say we screwed that up in less than two short hours at a basketball game is ludicrous. Thirty years from now when I think back to my senior year of college, I am not going remember people thinking we “tarnished” what we accomplished this year but I am going to remember winning conference and I will be reminded of that every time I look down at my hand and see that beautiful conference championship ring on my finger. The season is in the past and nobody can touch what we did.

The actions by our student body may have been poor but I will bet another four years tuition on it that if they ever win the trophy back, they will do something far worse than what we did this year. Hopefully we will never find out because I hope we never lose to Knox College and we retain the trophy for as long as possible. The times have changed and I am willing to bet whenever they do win it, it will be far more tasteless than this.

Fans are a huge part of success for any athletic team. It is obvious that most teams are better at home because they have more fans to cheer them on. A big part of the reason why the Monmouth College Football Team did so well on the road was because we always had a crowd of people following us where ever we played this year. We owe a big part of our success to them for always being there and cheering for us when we needed it. Many basketball players, baseball players and other athletes were always there supporting us. So let me just say thank you to everyone who supported us all season long. The student section at the home baseball game against Grinnell last year was a big reason why we won that game. Having a good student section and good support from the student body is always nice to have.

I would like to take a second to inform all of you that I have recently been banned from all Monmouth College sporting events that are home or away. I will take my punishment like a man and deal with it. But I do have a problem with being banned from all Monmouth College sporting events when I have never in my four years been kicked out of a single game even though I have attended many of them. I know somebody will now take my place and be known as “that guy” at the games. But I truly believe that by this happening, all Monmouth College did was weaken our student section.

I would like to finish up this letter by sending out a few apologies that should be mentioned. I would like to first apologize to President Ditzler and the new administration and any alumni or fans that I offended. I realize that my behavior represented Monmouth College poorly and I am truly sorry about that because I would never want to disrespect a place that has given me a home for four years of my life. I would also like to apologize to our Athletic Director Terry Glaskow because of what I did and the amount of extra work and stress I made for him. I mostly want to apologize to Coach Bell, Coach Braun, Coach Ragone and the entire football team. You guys are the reason I am here at Monmouth College and I apologize for what some people may think by making our program look bad. I do not agree with it and do not think in any way shape or form that we tarnished what we did this year. I am sorry that people are questioning the football team and our coaches and that has got a lot to do with I did. I also want to apologize to the basketball team and the baseball team. You guys supported us throughout our entire season and now I will not be able to do the same. You guys supported us on the road and I am just hoping that I will be granted the wish to go and cheer you guys on when you are on the road as well. I love Monmouth College and its athletic programs, and even though I made a mistake, I would like to continue to support them.

Sincerely,

Nick Bush, ’06

Captain of the 2005 MWC Championship Football Team